Israel Active

The new half-billion-shekels Haarazim transportation hub has opened in Jerusalem on Route 1. It includes 12 bus platforms servicing Bnei Brak, Petah Tikva, Netanya, Safed, Haifa, Rehovot, and more. It has 215 rapid electric bus charging stations, and a 200,000 sq. ft “green roof".

Following the life-saving innovations developed by female students at Jerusalem College of Technology’s Hack.Her.IT competition (see previously), the men had a go at JCT’s 8th annual Great Minds Hackathon. The winner, Campaign Matcher, built an AI web-based fundraising support platform.

Israel’s Pickommerce (see previously) has developed PickoBot – a robot that can pick and place inventory in a warehouse. It uses a computer vision system powered by machine learning that enables the safe and intelligent packaging of objects of different sizes, weights and textures.

At the UK’s Farnborough Airshow, Elbit Systems displayed its advanced helmets. The modular X-Sight for helicopter pilots delivers a crisp, clear, and precise AI image. The Zero G represents a significant upgrade to the advanced helmet used by F-35 pilots worldwide.

Israel annually produces some 7,000 new engineering graduates, compared to Iran’s 234,000. However, Ami Moyal, President of Tel Aviv’s Afeka Academic College of Engineering is sure that the Israeli focus on innovation and entrepreneurship gives Israel the advantage.

Israel’s D-ID (see previously) has launched Video Translate. It allows users to upload videos that are then automatically translated into multiple languages, cloning the speaker's voice and adapting their lip movements. It will redefine how we communicate globally.

Israel’s Loora has launched the Android version of its virtual AI English tutor app.  Previously (see ) the app was only available on Apple’s iOS. It will make the app available to a much larger audience of non-native English speakers across the globe.

Following last week’s article about Israel’s Co-Energy (see ) another process is being researched at Tel Aviv University. Waste is superheated and catalysts are used to separate it into biofuel and a solid biochar that can be used elsewhere, while isolating the extracted greenhouse gases inside.

A University of Haifa study has found that a coastal strip south of Haifa, is an effective natural habitat for the endangered cartilaginous (“guitar”) fish. The Israeli location provides food, protection from predators, and shelter (factors also enjoyed by Israeli citizens!).

Israel’s AI21 Labs (see previously) has launched Jamba 1.5 for the development of GenAI systems that need to process large volumes of text.  It fully supports Hebrew and Arabic languages.  CEO Ori Goshen says they included Hebrew support “for Zionist reasons”, as it is not a big market.